Payment network Thunes closes US$10M Series A led by GGV Capital
The global venture firm GGV Capital has led a US$10 million Series A funding of Thunes, global payment network aimed at emerging economies.
The company said that the funding will be used to expand and improve its service offering as well as its platform, and accelerate growth across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It plans to build more strategic partnerships to help bring improved payment solutions to businesses and consumers in emerging economies.
Thunes states its mission as seeking to “make financial services global and accessible to everyone, including the 1.7 billion adults in emerging markets that are excluded from the global economy because they lack access to any financial services”.
Thunes’ network operates on interconnecting financial institutions and digital financial service providers, enabling the movement of funds to and from emerging economies.
Thunes offers four key payment solutions – P2P remittance processing, corporate mass payouts, B2B payments, and digital payment services.
The team will also open up new offices in San Francisco, USA, Dubai, UAE, and Paris to enable closer interaction with the customer and partner base.
In addition to the funding, Thunes Executive Chairman, Peter De Caluwe said that they have appointed a CEO. “We’ve hired Steve Vickers, to lead Thunes’ global expansion and take the business to the next level. This funding allows us to accelerate our company mission,” said De Caluwe.
To date, the company claims to have a global network that reaches over 80 countries with more than 9,000 interconnected payout partners. On a daily basis, it says that it can complete more than 300,000 transactions, and processes in excess of US$3 billion USD principal per annum.
“We were attracted by Thunes because we are aligned with their mission and see a lot of growth potential in this business,” said Jenny Lee, Managing Partner at GGV Capital.
GGV Capital is a global venture capital firm that invests in local founders that focusses on seed-to-growth stage investments across Consumer/New Retail, Social/Digital & Internet, Enterprise/Cloud, and Frontier Tech sectors. The firm was founded in 2000 and manages US$6.2 billion in capital across 13 funds boasting portfolio companies include Airbnb, Alibaba, ByteDance (Toutiao), and Grab.
Just recently, Thunes announced that it has collaborated with Western Union to expand payout capabilities to mobile wallets. Thunes partnered with PayPal and M-PESA to deliver alternative payment solutions that allow its Kenyan consumers and businesses to take full advantage of global e-commerce.
Thunes has also collaborated with Grab to enable real-time mass salary payouts for their drivers.